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How to Care for Pet Guinea Pigs - The Spruce

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Guinea pigs

Looking for an adorable pet guinea pig or hopefully two? Adopting is the way to go! At “Guinea Pig Finder," our listings and resources are managed by guinea pig experts and seasoned guinea pig rescuers. Our mission is to give you a smart path in adopting guinea pigs, and to help those needing to rehome their pet guinea pigs. In addition, we try to provide new adopters with a jump start on a happy and healthy relationship with their new pets.

Most of us are aware of the horrors of puppy mills, and understand that buying a puppy from a pet store supports the cycle of abusively sordid care and practices that continues behind the scenes. We know that the cute puppy in the store window has come from a bad world. It's the same, only worse, for small pets. Hobby and show breeders contribute to that reality, whether they realize it or not. Find out more...

Seriously, have you ever met an uncute guinea pig? We haven't. There are amazingly cute, young and healthy guinea pigs for adoption everywhere. Don't believe for a moment that shelters, rescues and private folks are just rehoming old, not so cute or sickly guinea pigs. That's not the way it works, especially in the small pet world.

Guinea pigs purchased at pet stores are frequently mis-sexed and/or pregnant! The most common reasons that guinea pigs end up being rehomed are:

Generally speaking, guinea pigs adopted from your local shelter or rescue are healthier than pet store guinea pigs. They've been well cared for, properly sexed, are not pregnant and are vet-checked. Many pet store guinea pigs are afflicted with mites, upper respiratory infections and more. These can be serious problems that are usually not apparent from a quick inspection in the store. Guinea pig adoption is the way to go. Don't fund the pet mills.

Seriously, have you ever met an uncute guinea pig? We haven't. There are amazingly cute, young and healthy guinea pigs for adoption everywhere. Don't believe for a moment that shelters, rescues and private folks are just rehoming old, not so cute or sickly guinea pigs. That's not the way it works, especially in the small pet world.

Looking for an adorable pet guinea pig or hopefully two? Adopting is the way to go! At “Guinea Pig Finder," our listings and resources are managed by guinea pig experts and seasoned guinea pig rescuers. Our mission is to give you a smart path in adopting guinea pigs, and to help those needing to rehome their pet guinea pigs. In addition, we try to provide new adopters with a jump start on a happy and healthy relationship with their new pets.

Most of us are aware of the horrors of puppy mills, and understand that buying a puppy from a pet store supports the cycle of abusively sordid care and practices that continues behind the scenes. We know that the cute puppy in the store window has come from a bad world. It's the same, only worse, for small pets. Hobby and show breeders contribute to that reality, whether they realize it or not. Find out more...

Seriously, have you ever met an uncute guinea pig? We haven't. There are amazingly cute, young and healthy guinea pigs for adoption everywhere. Don't believe for a moment that shelters, rescues and private folks are just rehoming old, not so cute or sickly guinea pigs. That's not the way it works, especially in the small pet world.

Guinea pigs purchased at pet stores are frequently mis-sexed and/or pregnant! The most common reasons that guinea pigs end up being rehomed are:

Generally speaking, guinea pigs adopted from your local shelter or rescue are healthier than pet store guinea pigs. They've been well cared for, properly sexed, are not pregnant and are vet-checked. Many pet store guinea pigs are afflicted with mites, upper respiratory infections and more. These can be serious problems that are usually not apparent from a quick inspection in the store. Guinea pig adoption is the way to go. Don't fund the pet mills.

Seriously, have you ever met an uncute guinea pig? We haven't. There are amazingly cute, young and healthy guinea pigs for adoption everywhere. Don't believe for a moment that shelters, rescues and private folks are just rehoming old, not so cute or sickly guinea pigs. That's not the way it works, especially in the small pet world.

Guinea pigs are Cavia porcellus , a kind of rodent . They are not pigs and are not from Guinea . They are domesticated animals which originated in the Andes .

Studies on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are descendants of a closely related species of cavy. They do not occur naturally in the wild. [1] [2]

In many parts of the world, people keep them as pets . In Peru , Bolivia , and several other countries, they are raised for food . The first people who domesticated the animals, did it for food. Besides being a pet and a source of food, in some places people think guinea pigs keep bad spirits away. In Quechua , the language of some the native tribes of Peru, they are called quivi . The Spanish-speaking people of the region call them cuy (plural: cuyes ).

This perception of pigginess occurred in many languages other than English ; the German word for them is Meerschweinchen , literally "little sea pigs" (sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat), the Russian and Polish word for them is similar, "morskaya svinka" (Морская свинка) and "świnka morska" respectively, meaning also "little sea pig" (it comes from archaic use of the word to mean "overseas"). However, this perception of pigginess is not universal to all languages or cultures. For example, the common Spanish term is 'conejillo de Indias' (Indian bunny rabbit).

Guinea pigs need large open air cages in which to romp and frolic. They should have a diet of 1/8 cup of high quality grass-based guinea-pig pellets daily, as per manufacturer’s instructions. They should also have unlimited grass hay, and at least one cup of a variety of veggies. Guinea pigs like to be held in hand. Guinea pigs should be kept in cages larger than 7.5 square feet or 10.5 square feet for 2 pigs. They should always have a friend as guinea pigs are social animals. Breeding guinea pigs are not recommended as the rate of pregnancy complications is high. [3]

Guinea pig is also slang for a person who is the first to try something. It can also mean the subject of an experiment . This is because guinea pigs are used by biologist s as model organism s.

How to Care for Guinea Pigs (with Pictures) - wikihow.pet

Guinea pig - Wikipedia

Looking for an adorable pet guinea pig or hopefully two? Adopting is the way to go! At “Guinea Pig Finder, our listings and resources are managed by guinea pig experts and seasoned guinea pig rescuers. Our mission is to give you a smart path in